Busch makes it 3 straight at Fontana

• NATIONWIDE

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - Kyle Busch used pit strategy to take a late lead and held off Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick to win his third straight Nationwide race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.

Edwards and Harvick traded leads for most of the 150-lap race around the wide 2-mile oval before deciding to get four tires on their final stop with less than 20 laps left.

Busch came in after and opted for two tires, putting him nearly a straightaway ahead after leaving pit road. He had just enough speed to survive a final-lap bump into the wall, winning for the fifth time his past six races at Fontana.

"I thought four tires was just going to be a consistent call, just give us a third-place run," Busch said after his 46th career Nationwide win, two behind Mark Martin's all-time mark. "But (Crew Chief Jason) Radcliff surprised us all and pulled one out of the hat."

Busch, who won at Bristol last week, has won three of five Nationwide races and has 46 career, two behind Mark Martin's all-time Nationwide mark. Busch's team, Joe Gibbs Racing, has won seven straight races at Auto Club Speedway - five by Busch and one each by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano.

Busch led just a handful of laps and figured he had little better than a fourth or fifth-place car, but was good enough to hang around the lead.

It came down to the final pit stop on a green flag, and Busch stayed out when Edwards then Harvick came into the pits, finally coming in with 13 laps left.

Ratcliff initially called for four tires, then changed his mind, setting up the will-he-make-it finish. Busch clipped the wall coming out of Turn 2, killing some of his momentum, but he had just enough left to nip Edwards, who was surprised after the race that Busch was able to hold him and Harvick off with just two tires.

"I still can't believe it actually worked out," Ratcliff said. "You think about things like that when you're sitting on the couch and thinking 'oh, if I was that guy, I'd do this.' We weren't going to win taking four tires and I was really surprised to only do the right sides like that."

Harvick finished third and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth.

Jennifer Jo Cobb had rough day after a dramatic week at Bristol.

The Nationwide series rookie refused to race last week at Bristol because team owner Rick Russell told her he wanted to start then park the car, stirring up a she-said, he-said controversy. Driving for Rick Ware Racing at Fontana, she spun out on Turn 4 after 12 laps, returned a little while later, then went back to the garage. Cobb finished 38th.

NASCAR

Nationwide-Royal Purple 300

Saturday

At Auto Club Speedway

Fontana, Calif.

Lap length: 2 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (7) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 150 laps, 128.5 rating, 0 points, $61,445.

2. (1) Carl Edwards, Ford, 150, 129.8, 0, $57,675.

3. (2) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 150, 139.9, 0, $44,700.

4. (12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 150, 116.1, 41, $35,793.

5. (34) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 150, 105.9, 39, $26,125.

6. (9) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 150, 109.8, 38, $29,218.

7. (4) Joey Logano, Toyota, 150, 96.7, 0, $20,275.

8. (8) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 150, 104.4, 0, $18,800.

9. (3) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 150, 100.5, 36, $25,478.

10. (5) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 150, 97.8, 0, $19,900.

11. (16) Jason Leffler, Chevrolet, 150, 89, 33, $26,893.

12. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 150, 90.1, 32, $24,068.

13. (11) Brian Scott, Toyota, 150, 89.6, 31, $24,268.

14. (14) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 149, 84.1, 30, $26,033.

15. (17) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 149, 81, 29, $24,823.

16. (6) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 149, 78.9, 28, $23,638.

17. (19) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 149, 75.8, 27, $24,178.

18. (20) Michael Annett, Toyota, 149, 73.1, 26, $23,043.

19. (13) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 149, 77.1, 25, $24,433.

20. (25) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Ford, 147, 62.2, 24, $24,298.

21. (22) Eric McClure, Chevrolet, 146, 55.1, 23, $22,713.

22. (18) Kevin Conway, Toyota, 146, 62.9, 0, $16,085.

23. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, 146, 50.7, 21, $22,468.

24. (23) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 145, 58.3, 20, $22,708.

25. (21) Charles Lewandoski, Ford, 145, 53.6, 20, $22,798.

26. (33) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 144, 41.2, 0, $15,595.

27. (15) Steve Wallace, Toyota, 143, 57.2, 17, $21,928.

28. (26) Kevin Lepage, Ford, 143, 54.9, 17, $21,808.

29. (41) Robert Richardson Jr., Dodge, 143, 39.6, 15, $22,058.

30. (30) Tim Andrews, Ford, engine, 142, 61.4, 14, $15,380.

31. (36) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 140, 35.4, 13, $21,438.

32. (32) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 139, 37.9, 12, $21,328.

33. (29) Blake Koch, Dodge, 128, 42.5, 11, $21,218.

34. (24) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 115, 63, 10, $21,108.

35. (31) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, axle, 91, 62.1, 9, $14,530.

36. (42) Dennis Setzer, Dodge, transmission, 86, 39.4, 0, $20,888.

37. (27) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, vibration, 41, 49.4, 7, $14,300.

38. (40) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Ford, handling, 38, 34.2, 6, $14,190.

39. (43) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, brakes, 31, 31.4, 5, $14,115.

40. (28) Alex Kennedy, Dodge, rear end, 21, 40.5, 4, $14,080.

41. (37) Carl Long, Chevrolet, steering, 12, 32.5, 3, $14,020.

42. (38) Brett Rowe, Chevrolet, handling, 3, 32.4, 2, $13,940.

43. (39) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, vibration, 3, 30.8, 1, $13,907.

Top 10 in Points: 1. R.Stenhouse Jr., 181; 2. J.Leffler, 175; 3. J.Allgaier, 156; 4. A.Almirola, 155; 5. R.Sorenson, 151; 6. T.Bayne, 150; 7. E.Sadler, 149; 8. K.Wallace, 140; 9. B.Scott, 138; 10. M.Bliss, 125.

• SPRINT CUP

Edwards-Busch feud still simmering?

Carl Edwards passed on one chance to pay back Kyle Busch. Given another shot, it's seeming more apparent that he might not hold back.

The recent spat between Edwards and Busch started at Phoenix, where Busch sent Edwards, the polesitter, into the wall. Edwards said afterward that he owed Busch one, even though Busch apologized after the race.

The two hashed it out at Las Vegas the following week, but Edwards was still thinking about it when he got close to Busch last week at Bristol. Edwards chose not to get into Busch there, but again brought up the owe-you-one sentiment.

Busch and Edwards are still talking about the payback issue in Fontana, so it could get interesting if they're close late in today's Sprint Cup race at Fontana, Calif. (11:30 a.m., KAYU).

Power grabs IRL pole

Will Power is on the pole for today's IndyCar's season opener (9:30 a.m., KXLY).

Power claimed his second consecutive pole at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.), edging two-time reigning series champion Dario Franchitti.

Power, who finished second to Franchitti last season, posted a quick lap of 1 minute, 1.96 seconds with about two minutes remaining in the final qualifying session.

Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon will share the second row with Mike Conway. Ryan Briscoe and Justin Wilson will share the third row.